League of Women Voters of Santa Monica Opposes Proposition HH (Veritas)

Proposition HH (Veritas) is a proposed measure on the ballot this November. It is a local initiative creating significant changes in the Santa Monica City Charter having to do with City Council Elections, the powers of the Mayor, and the process for adopting municipal legislation, and it would also amend the Municipal Code.

It does the following:

• Redefines the office of Mayor, creating a powerful office -- a Super Mayor who would have veto power over Council actions, dominate the interaction with city staff and set the agenda for Council meetings. This Super Mayor would be the only city official elected citywide, and hence the only voice for the city as a whole.
• Divides the city into 7 Council districts which have been predetermined by the sponsors. Each district would elect one councilmember.
• Establishes a requirement for candidates to participate in a municipal primary election. Those receiving a majority (50% plus 1) would be elected. If no one receives a majority, then the top two candidates would run in the general election.
• Establishes term limits of two consecutive, four-year terms -- limiting the right of voters to retain deserving representatives.

League of Women Voters of Santa Monica (LWVSM) opposes this measure based on National and State positions which have been established by League study and consensus.

1. Number of issues in this measure. Voters have the right to make yes or no decisions
without having to accept items they don't like in order to get one they do. State law requires that initiatives contain only one main focus or issue. Some initiatives have ended up in the courts because of multiplicity of issues, costing taxpayers money, and holding up or denying measures voted for.

2. Term Limits. The League opposes term limits. We believe citizens have the right to
continue with a representative as long as they are happy with him/her.

3. Districting. While The League does not oppose districting as such, we do believe that there should have been current public input before it was placed on the ballot. The sponsors of Veritas had public input in 1992 -- the city has changed a lot since then.

The League also has many specific concerns about this measure:

Multiplicity of Issues:
The League believes that Voters have the right to make clear and careful decisions. When there are several issues in any one measure, people are torn. There may be one issue they like, but not the rest. Or there may be one they dislike and not the others. Sponsors of initiatives frequently add more popular issues to their proposal to get voters to vote yes. Too often these ballot measures end up in the courts and the judge must determine if there are too many diverse issues. This is not only costly to the tax payer, but leaves voters feeling that their vote didn't really count.

We have identified five major issues in this measure. 1) Direct election of the Mayor,
2) Establishment of Extraordinary Powers in the office of Mayor, 3) Primary Elections, 4) Districting, and 5) Term Limits.

Any one of them could stand alone as a ballot measure. That is, we could have a ballot measure with only the direct election of the mayor -- it has nothing to do with districts, term limits, or having to run in the primary. In fact any one of the issues could stand alone.

This measure seems to be designed to appeal to different groups for different reasons in the hope that they can reach a larger percentage of the voting public because one of the issues will appeal to that voter. If you dislike, or are uncertain about even one of these issues you should vote no -- because you will not be able to choose. You will get the whole package. This does not promote good decision-making. This is not good government.

We believe this measure violates the single focus principle.

Super Mayor:
This measure creates a "Super Mayor." Our present system rotates the position among the sitting Councilmembers; it is a ceremonial position. The new Super Mayor would have the following powers:

Veto power over every ordinance passed by the City Council (Takes 5 out of 7 Council votes to override a veto.).

Serves as the City Council's "liaison" with the City Manager.

Appoints the Mayor Pro Tempore who serves at the pleasure of the Mayor.

Sets the agenda for all Council Meetings.

Presides over all City Council meetings and has a voice in all proceedings.

Votes as a tiebreaker.

May vote in all matters concerning removal of City Manager or City Attorney

This concentration of power will serve as a magnet for big money contributors.

Districting:
Districting is a well known (but almost never used in medium/small sized California Cities) method of choosing officials. Santa Monica is a small city of only eight square miles and under 90,000 people. Dividing us into small predetermined districts with our "own" representative may look like a good idea at first glance, however, living next door to someone doesn't mean that you agree on large citywide issues.

Many, if not most, of the items of business before the Council deal with citywide issues. We need Councilmembers to have a whole-city outlook -- not seven parochial ones. Instead of having seven at large council members who you can approach, you would have only one -- and there is no guarantee that that one would be your best representative. How much power would "your" representative have -- especially with the reduced influence provided by HH?

Why would other district representatives support your representative? There will be 7 Councilmembers with 7 different agendas. Who will have the interests of the City as a whole? It is an invitation to divisiveness and adversarial attitudes. It will give even more power to the Super Mayor as that is the only office chosen at-large by the whole city.

There is also the question of who draws the boundaries. The sponsors of Veritas have taken it upon themselves to predetermine the original boundary lines with no current input from the voters. Thus opening the opportunity for gerrymandering and creating political "safe" districts.

Districting will decrease each citizen's representation on the Council.

Primary Elections:
Why not have candidates compete in a Primary Election?

First of all, the cost. The City will probably have to fund two elections. Fundraising will become an even greater burden for the candidates which often leads to acceptance of large soft money donations by those who would try to influence the political scene.

Secondly, the time. Candidates will have to spend many more months planning and campaigning. If they are sitting councilmembers, this will distract even more from their effectiveness on the Council.

Thirdly, the Primary would be held during the time that the City Council is working on the city's budget. Not only is this a time when voters should insist their council members be focused and attentive, but it invites special interests to try to influence the budget process and decisions. Special interest money would be of particular concern in every election which included the office of Mayor.

Lastly, the number of voters. Primary Elections have even fewer voters than General Elections. Those who win in the Primaries are elected by a very small group of voters.
Candidates would be more accessible to soft money which could affect the budget process.

Term limits:
Santa Monica's history shows that council members have rarely sought more that two or three terms, so officially limiting their tenure isn't even necessary.

The League firmly believes that the citizens of this country have the right to elect representatives as often (or as seldom) as they choose. Anyone looking at the California State Legislature knows the confusion that occurs when so many of the elected offices are held by first timers. There has to be a learning time for any job.

Newcomers may be honest, even dedicated, but if they weren't in on the early discussion of an issue or project they either have to look to staff (or lobbyists) to decide what to do -- or they have to insist on creating the discussion over again from the start.

The choice should be yours.

Summary:
Proposition HH (Veritas) creates a powerful mayor who controls the agenda and can veto any city ordinance passed by the council, reduces your voice in local government, divides the city -- pitting one neighborhood against another, limits your option to retain representatives, opens the door to big money influence, increases costs to candidates, combines too many issues, and prolongs the election season.